Podcasts

Comedy/horror/supernatural
WTNV is everyone's first fiction podcast if you started listening to them between 2012 and like 2016. Cecil Palmer, radio host at Night Vale Community Radio reports on everything and anything going on in the town of Night Vale.
As far as weird town go, Night Vale is not the most malevolent, but it's definitely a weird place. Life in the city seems dangerous, but its inhabitants take in stride everything thrown at them without flinching, regardless of how weird it is. An old woman lives with angels, an ex-radio intern becomes mayor, a faceless old woman lives in your home. I've started this podcast in 2017 and I've still not managed to catch up. There are 219 (as of today) of 20-30 minutes. Which is a lot, but not much more than TMA which I listened to in its (almost) entirety in about 3 weeks. I don't remember where I stopped unfortunately. One day I'll finish this podcast. It is not among my favourites, but I still like it a lot.
And now, the weather.

Horror
TMA is probably one of the most popular fiction podcasts out there. Jonathan Sims, Head archivist at the Magnus Institute, records statements of people's strange encounters with the supernatural.
TMA is my favourite podcast. It is also the podcast that convinced me to listen to other podcasts. When I first listened to it, I forced myself to stop listening before 4pm, otherwise I couldn't fall asleep at night. This is the only podcast that really scared me. Which is quite funny, because I find relistening to it very soothing. During the three weeks in december 2020, when I was listening to almost all 5 seasons, I was stressed everyday all the time always. It also happened to be during my exams which did not help. I was a little obsessed with this podcast, and I'm pretty sure this obsession has only gone dormant, but could come back at any moment.
I wrote 4 pages just on my first listen to this podcast, maybe I'll add them later.

Sci-fi/noir
TPP was originally supposed to combine one-shots with long storylines. The one-shots disappeared with time and now, there's only two stories: Second Citadel and Juno Steel. The first is a fantasy adventure; I couldn't get past the first episode. The second is a sci-fi detective story following Juno Steel, private eye, and the cases he investigates on Mars and beyond.
I originally planned to listen to all of TPP when I started it, but Juno Steel was just a lot more engaging than the rest. Juno, as a character, tends to be arrogant and self-centered in a way that's particularly annoying. So I'm quite surprised that I got so attached to him and his stories. Of course, the cast of colourful secondary characters helped a lot. Rita, Buddy, Vespa, Mercury or Peter are all a delight to see.
While the first season was good, the second season surpassed it easily. I was not convinced at first: it starts with a case about a cat. Which is quite underwhelming after a first season's finale full of action (and emotions tbh). Ramses O'Flaherty is the main reason for this season being so good. Of course, all the smaller stories incorporated within thi season are also a big appeal. The whole part with Buddy and Vespa, the adventures of Juno and Rita... all those parts really more than make up for the absence of one specific character.
I got into the third season with high expectations: all the characters I enjoyed hearing about are now all working together. It should have been amazing but honestly, I don't like season 3. I think they are two elements for that: the dynamics and the changing POVs.
While Juno has established relationships with almost everyone on the ship, that's not the case for Rita, Peter or even Vespa. I think that instead of showing us how these characters develop dynamics between them, they just establish the relationships off-screen which is highly disappointing since it's my favourite part. The fact that they are called "the Aurinko crime family" doesn't feel earned at all. What family? Most of these guys didn't know each other one episode ago. I also think that characters like Vespa or Peter don't really work very well in "found family" dynamics without proper development.
Of course, this was only made worse by the change in POV. Until now, we'd only gotten Juno's POV. He almost doesn't appear this season. In theory, I'm not opposed to this kind of decision. It worked well for TMA, after all. However, TPP episodes are notably longer (sometimes around 1hour) and Juno is not just the main character, but he also narrates everything, from what's happening to his thoughts. It's jarring to suddenly be in Rita's head, regardless of how much I love her. Vespa's episode was really worth it tho.
While season 4 is not done yet, I like it a lot more than season 3. We're back in Juno's head and most interactions are once again between two or three characters, and no more. Also, Mick Mercury is back. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't miss the guy (one more reason to dislike s3). The fact that Juno has the same goal through the whole season also makes it more coherent than previous seasons. I'm excited to see how the season will end!

Sci-fi/comedy
Stellar Firma is the kind of podcast I think I can recommend to people. And then I relisten to an episode. And I change my mind. SF follows Trexel and David 7 in their numerous attempts to design fonctioning planets. They rarely succeed.
Half impro, this podcast has a rhythm like no other. The banter between the two main characters, as well as with IMOGEN--the AI-- or Hartro--their boss-- is the driving force of the podcast. This podcast is really funny if you have a high tolerance for disgucting humor. Everything is sticky, feet end up in mouth, dubious liquids are drank... you get the idea.

Horror/Road trip I guess
The second podcast of Night Vale presentstells the story of a truck driver searching for her wife accross America. The problem is, her wife is supposed to be dead. On her journey on the road, she'll encounter many weird occurrences.
This podcast was pretty disappointing. It was the first horror podcast that I'd started after TMA and needless to say, it did not have the same effect on me. I think i would have liked the story more if the VA was someone else. I really don't like the voice of this VA. Sorry. She sounds like a 15 year old with a stuffed nose, which really clashes with the serious tone of the story. Sorry. Other than that, the story is pretty mid. I'll probably never finish it.

Sci-fi/Comedy??
The first podcast that made me cry! On the U.S.S. Hephaestus space station, the crew tries to do their job, despite the monster plant, the aliens and, worst of all, the company they work for.
W359 starts as a comedy in space, with its horror moments, but the tone deviates quite a lot after a few episodes. It never completely loses its humor but the plot takes a more dramatic turn. This is a story for people who like the trope "antagonists have to work with the protagonists because an even bigger antagonist has appeared". It keeps happening.
W359 is quite the emotional rollercoaster. Comedy, horror and mystery are mixed in with existential questions, tragedy and adventures.
The characters all have the time to shine (except maybe the two last antagonists whose names I never manage to remember) and the way their relationships change, as they are forced to work together, works everytime on me. The ending still haunts me, however. Amnesia always gets to me.

Medical drama/sci-fi/comedy
EOS 10 is among my favourite podcasts. Mixing medical drama and humour is a well-known recipe for success. And, because it's a podcast, it takes place in space. The medical part is not really interesting, as always with these kinds of series. What I really want to see is Jane and Levi on their latest shenanigans. There is a plot, but I don't care much for it: the more it got developped, the less interested in the series I am. Especially after they decided to scrap Akmazian from the series. The whole "parallel universes" was just depressing. I understand that the creators want to write more serious storylines, but it was not the reason I started getting into this podcast and I don't think they really delivered.